About Us

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“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
Oscar Wilde

From humble beginnings in 1970, Epicentre Theatre Company has survived the test of time and provided Sydney’s theatre junkies with over 45 years of splendid theatre.

Epicentre Theatre Company is a Not-For-Profit Community Theatre Group registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.  A Community Theatre Group is one that is operated by ordinary members of the public on a not-for-profit basis. Members give freely of their own time and resources, and there are no permanent paid staff. Our income is returned to the group for use in the next production or for maintenance, and also distributed to chosen charities.

Epicentre has a long history in community theatre terms, has gone through periods of real achievement, such as in the 90s when a very talented group was running the show – this group included Damien Ryan, now director of Sport for Jove, Jim McCrudden, Troy Carlson, Alison Carlson, Bernadette Ryan. In this time we did one Shakespeare every year and had huge audiences from schools. Our next glory period was when Suzanne Millar and John Harrison were on board. Dino became a member at this time and was but one of a very talented group. Damien Ryan was still with us, directing “The Dream”; John Harrison playing Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird, Dino directing, a period when we took risks and mostly they paid off. .

But there were down times. The thing is to hang on in there, keep plugging away. So many community theatre groups have fallen down – ETC is still here.

We at the ETC believe the aim of theatre is multifaceted. On one level it is an escape from one’s day to day life. It gives us a chance to travel on someone else’s road through laughter and pain. On a deeper level it is to engage with the journey of a character and cathartically let our own emotions rise to the surface. On a simpler level, it is a wonderful way to meet people, sharing a glass of wine as you discuss the merits of what you have just witnessed.

With this in mind, Epicentre Theatre Company believes theatre is a forum to bring together a cross-section of community in the commonality of engaging with thought-provoking and entertaining theatre. The company strives to produce the highest quality of live theatre, focusing their three productions each year in three distinct areas:
  1. To produce a popular comedy or classic from an Australian or overseas playwright.
  2. Engaging with both an educated younger audience and the general public by producing one play each year which is studied at a Year 12 level in schools
  3. Produce a premiere production from Australia and overseas.
The Committee nominates a charity to be the beneficiary of each production:
In 2016, the chosen charities are:
RUMORS:  Studio Artes
SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL: Monika's DoggieRescue
THE GREAT GATSBY: Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women's Shelter

Whatever your reason for spending a night at our theatre, we trust you’ll find the thrill and magic that only comes when playing your role in the theatre experience.